So heads Team PH; Barcenilla is coach

IT’S now up to Super Grandmaster Wesley So whether to play for the country or not in the 41st Chess Olympiad slated in Tromso, Norway, next month.

As in the initial list sent by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines to the Olympiad secretariat, So— ranked 15th in the world—also headed the national team roster to the Olympiad submitted by the NCFP to the Philippine Sports Commission Thursday.

So, the Philippines’ top board player in the 2012 Istanbul Olympiad, earlier told the NCFP via social media that he intends to transfer to the US federation, which has listed him as coach in the Olympiad.

A business finance student of Webster University in Missouri, So said he wants to shift federations in order to further hone his skill in the US.

Apart from the letter to the PSC, which has withheld So’s monthly stipend of P40,000 pending the resolution of his federation status, NCFP chair-president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr. also wrote So asking for his decision within the week.

Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.